Looking for a book cover design?

Color, typeface, images and layout combine to give
us an impression of what a book is about.
And we decide if we like it – in 10 seconds.

That’s all the time you have to grab a browser’s
attention. And if you fail – they’re gone – on to the
next book. You lose a buyer.

So it pays to get your cover right.

Creating Book Covers That Really Sell

A book cover is like a well prepared resume.
When prepared professionally, great resumes produce favourable first impressions on hiring managers;
thus dramatically increasing a job prospectors chances of getting an interview call.

And so too is the case with a books’ cover. The human brain is wired to respond based on initial impressions.
A great book cover can set in motion psychological chain reactions, based on cover design and artwork,
which could ultimately culminate in purchasing the book.

*according to the researches at thebooksmugglers.com

Book Cover Essentials

Eliciting that favourable psychological response from book readers and prospective buyers however, is not an easy task.
Avid book aficionados are very discerning about judgements they make on which books to buy and which ones to pass.
One look at the book cover design can either sway or dissuade their buying decisions.

But it’s not just the “design”, in isolation, that is essential to make a great cover.
Professional designers include a lot of factors when designing great-looking book covers.
Art, imagery and graphics, colour palette, typography and font, titles etc.,
all come into play when producing stunning and impactful covers that can really sell books.

Creating covers that sell is all about delivering a message to book buyers.
And when you pull all of these factors together professionally, it all translates into a sort of subliminal messaging system.
The messaging simply tells the brain: Buy me!

So what should this messaging comprise of?
Once again, there are several components that go into using book cover art and design as a psychological messaging system.
While individually they may seem trivial, like font choices or colour shades, when composed as a whole, they make a lasting impression on prospective readers.

Let’s take a look at some of the essential elements that separate ordinary covers from professionally designed ones.

An inspiring cover:

Excites buyers: Covers can be used as a means of exciting a buyers’ interest in the book.
A book with an unexciting cover is not likely to be reviewed for further consideration

Grabs their attention: Once they pick up a book, most potential buyers need a reason to dig deeper into the book.
Great book covers can offer them that reason

Strikes an emotional chord with buyers: Now that they are looking at the cover of the book, they should be stirred to take the next step – perhaps flip the book over and read the blurb.
By emotionally engaging them, well designed book covers can persuade potential buyers to do just that!

Relates to the writer’s audience: If they “connect” with what they see and read so far, then a buyer will probably be impressed with the book.
But if they can’t relate to it, they will just walk away!

Motivates buyers to spend: This is this final step in the psychological messaging that is extremely essential.
A books’ cover design that buyers can relate to will motivate them to spend to buy the book

Any book covers that have all of these essential elements will make the book more appealing to prospective buyers. But all of these ingredients must be measured and delivered in good proportion.
Otherwise, just like a meal cooked without proportion, too much salt (or colour), or too little pepper (or graphics), may spoil the dish!

Not everyone who is an expert at using Adobe Publisher or Photoshop can produce stunning covers that sell books!
Professional cover designers, like Book Cover Gem, bring lots of value to a book publishing project, especially for first-time publications.

How do they add value? By putting years of practical experience behind each book cover they design.
Here’s what professional cover designers keep in mind when producing exceptional covers:

Understanding the writer’s needs: Before they start designing the book cover art, they understand exactly what you are looking for.
They put themselves in your shoes, and then they design accordingly

Leverage their experience: Professionals have a great sense of what is involved in designing book covers, and they will guide writers every step of the way towards designing killer covers that really sell – thanks to their experience in the field with similar projects

They design for your audience: Using their experience and their understanding of what you are looking for, they then design covers for your specific audience. To do so, they use appropriate metaphors, typography and imagery for the genre you are targeting

They keep it simple: Most readers hate complexity! Professional cover designers use their keen design sense and don’t over crowd or over do the cover. That’s the type of skill set they bring to the table to help your books fly off the shelves

Great book covers are the glue to the book: A professional cover designer understands that covers are what bind readers to the book.
Everything your book stands for, or is about, should be reflected in its cover. Otherwise the book won’t sell!

Mass appeal: Professional designers make the title and messaging plain and simple – They design so that it appeals to a broad audience, not just a select few

Use well tested approach: The book cover design process needs a tried and tested approach that works! Professionals have perfected that process with dozens, if not hundreds, of clients.
They use the right colours, fonts, graphics and styles to help sell your books

And while many of these tips may seem “logical”, they are often extremely difficult to put into practice. Without proper skills and experience, unprofessional book cover design can actually harm, rather than help, your book.

Final Thoughts

Today’s book readers are extremely finicky about which books they read and which they don’t like.
And quite often, readers even pass on some terrific books – just by looking at their covers!
Just as our hypothetical job seeker needed a professionally designed resume in order to convince hiring managers to give him/her a closer look, so too can professionally designed covers convince readers that your book is worth taking a closer look at.

And in order to make that emotional connection with the reader, and then persuade him/her to actually spend money to buy the book, you need a great book cover that convinces buyers that it’s worth a buy!

Rod Pettet "The Misbehaving Ferret"

I found BookCoverGem a most professional and pleasant company to work with. They quickly came up with a excellent concept and after a short period of email exchanges, they came up with exactly what I wanted.
Some weeks later, the printer changed the spine thickness and BookCoverGem very quickly made the necessary alteration at no cost to me.
I would highly recommend them.

Karl Scholz “Amazing Phisics Lab”

It’s been a delight working with these guys. I gave my idea and they got it right at the first shot! I can honestly recommend bookcovergem.com to anyone looking for professional book cover design.

Alois Passendorfer “99 Unsolved mysteries of the brain”

David is excellent in his work. He made several modifications as requested, and did an awesome job with my cover. Very good experience with him. He is my “go to guy” for any future design work.

Chris O'Connell “Moon Scene”

I didn’t have any ideas about cover design. I simply forwarded the title of my book and I got results that were even better than I expected! So I highly recommend these guys to everyone who needs top notch covers.

Joan Darst “Mystery of WonderVille”

Thank you for such an easy process. I didn’t have to spend time searching for images. I just showed them the design I like, and described what the book is all about - and I received a great book cover

Juro Saito “Meiji Restoration”

I'm working on my first book and the support was amazing, and communication exceptional! I really appreciate all the hard work they put into helping me make my dreams come true.